The Roosevelt Arch greets visitors near the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park at Gardiner, Mont. (Flickr photo by Pete Zarria - click to enlarge)

From Staff Reports

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WYO. — Just as visitors have their first chance today to venture into the interior of Yellowstone National Park by auto this year, the Montana towns of West Yellowstone and Gardiner are planning a series of Earth Day events for the weekend.

Starting at 8 a.m. today, autos may drive from Yellowstone’s north and west entrances to Old Faithful, Canyon, and Norris. Entry into Yellowstone is free starting Saturday and continuing through April 29 as part of National Park Week. Entrance to all national parks in the country is free during the week.

On Saturday, West Yellowstone will host a day of Earth Day events including demonstrations by the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center and U.S. Forest Service, craft tables, face painting, and Earth Day snacks and drinks. Events run from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn.

The celebration shifts to Gardiner on Sunday, with a free community electronics collection and recycling event from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00p.m.at the Yellowstone Association’s offices near the Roosevelt Arch. Residents can bring in their outdated TVs, computers, cell phones and other electronics for recycling.

At the same time, visitors and residents can also drop off used or expired bear spray canisters and see the community’s new bear spray canister recycling machine.

After the recycling event, there will be a screening of the documentary “Tapped,” which explores the environmental, social, and economic effects of single-use disposable plastic water bottles.

Participants at both events will have a chance to win a variety of Earth Day prizes.

This weekend’s Earth Day events in Gardiner and West Yellowstone are sponsored by the Yellowstone Environmental Coordinating Committee (YECC). The group is made up of organizations that are involved in protecting the park and serving park visitors and residents, including: National Park Service, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Delaware North, Medcor, Yellowstone Park Service Stations, Yellowstone Association and Yellowstone Park Foundation.

According to Yellowstone Park officials, the efforts of the YECC have helped the park make significant progress toward environmental sustainability in recent years. For instance, through the work of YECC partners, Yellowstone was able to divert nearly 73 percent of its solid waste from entering the landfill last year, a total of 3,300 tons of material.

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With winter still firmly entrenched across Yellowstone country, some tourism industry leaders are already planning a few special events for the summer. That's the summer of 2016.
The National Park Service celebrates its centennial in 2016, and is planning special events and observations across the country, including at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Gateway towns are gearing up as well, looking to capitalize on what is likely to be an increased focus on national parks during the centennial year.

Yellowstone National Park, the Yellowstone Environmental Coordinating Committee and community partners in and around Gardiner, Mont., will celebrate the 44th anniversary of Earth Day starting April 19. Planned events include community cleanups, waste collection and recycling events, demonstrations, games, information on local and national environmental initiatives and much more.

Tourism slowed to a trickle in many small towns around Yellowstone after a series of spectacular fires in 1988 burned across nearly one third of the park. So, with a local population of only 83 people in Bearcreek, Mont., bar and restaurant owner Bob "Pits" DeArmond knew he had to do something to attract attention, and visitors. So got into pig racing.
"We just figured pig races might be the thing," said DeArmond, owner of the Bear Creek Saloon and Steakhouse, home of Bear Creek Downs.
A natural-born promoter, DeArmond has tried a number of attractions and events around his place in addition to pig racing, including a sagebrush golf tournament, a velcro wall and iguana races.

Wildlife officials in Montana are closely watching a herd of bighorn sheep near the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park after several of the animals have been killed by an outbreak of pneumonia.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks workers have collected 10 dead bighorn sheep over the last two weeks—a mix of rams, lambs and one adult ewe. Analysis at the state wildlife lab in Bozeman determined all the sheep died from pneumonia.

A long stretch of above-normal temperatures and limited snowfall in Yellowstone National Park have resulted in a dramatic reduction in the snowpack on road segments linking West Yellowstone and Old Faithful.
That has left many areas along the road from West Yellowstone through Madison Junction to Old Faithful with large portions of exposed pavement visible, requiring the National Park Service to change how vehicles may access the park in that area.

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The Yellowstone Park Foundation is recruiting businesses across the greater Yellowstone area for a new program designed to help them give back to Yellowstone, and receive benefits in return. "Many area businesses have asked YPF how they can give back to Yellowstone, because the Park gives us all so much," said YPF President Karen Bates Kress.

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The oldest hotel in the world's first national park had a distinct aroma of fresh paint as summer guests began arriving this week. But the major renovations being wrapped up at Yellowstone Lake Hotel go far beyond new paint, as workers are completing a 2-year, $28.5 million makeover that has focused on restoring the iconic property to its historic elegance.

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